30 November 2011

It's All About Me, Me, Me!

Msgr. Charles Pope responds to some criticisms of the new translation of the Mass, one of them being:

I can’t easily understand what Father is saying in those long, run-on sentences. It doesn’t make sense to me and I get lost in all the words.

If the language of the Novus Ordo boggles the mind, I can't imagine what the Traditional Latin Mass would do to her; her head would probably explode.

But here's my suggestion: Missals (you know, those little booklets in the pew) are useful.

The Monsignor also has some sage advice to offer:

The priest is not talking to you. He is not directing the prayer to you, and the first purpose of the prayer is not that you understand it perfectly. The prayer is directed to God, (most often, to God the Father). The priest is speaking to God, and is doing so on your behalf, and that of the whole Church. And God is wholly able to understand the prayer, no matter how complicated its structure.

Here's a revelation: the efficacy of the Mass has absolutely nothing to do with how much you, the parishioner, understand. In fact, your presence is not even required. You could be at home dozing on the couch in front of the telly, and the Mass would be just as efficacious without you there.

It's not all about you.

And I kindly suggest that if the new translation is that hard to understand, that you start setting aside a little time each day to read more books--not Harry Potter or the latest Danielle Steele novel, but good classic literature, history, or theology.